Teardowns can be sometimes controversial because they reveal things are not usually known to ordinary consumers. Through the years, it can be assumed that OEMs have learned to improve the design and development of each and every product as they will be scrutinized by tech enthusiasts and the public. IFixit has managed to do a teardown of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G last week. It was a live analysis so the tech guys were also responding to the requests of the audience.
A more formal teardown of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra is featured on IFixit’s website so you also follow if you wish to open your phone. This round features the two new Galaxy phones side by side.
The two are basically the same in numerous ways but the Ultra model is definitely larger. It also comes with higher specs.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20. 6.7-inch Infinity-O AMOLED display, 2400 × 1080 pixel resolution, 8GB RAM, 128 GB, Snapdragon 865+ processor, 10MP selfie camera, 12MP ultra-wide, 12MP wide-angle, 64 MP telephoto, and 4300mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G. 6.9-inch Infinity-O AMOLED screen, 12GB RAM, 3088 × 1440 resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, 128 GB (up to 1TB), Snapdragon 865+ processor, 10MP selfie camera, 108MP wide-angle, 12MP periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom, and 4500 mAh batt.
Both phones already come with 5G and Ultra Wide Band connectivity, Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11ax Wi-Fi, and 4×4 MIMO LTE. The IFixit team placed the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra under a Creative Electron X-ray. The camera bumps are noticeable.
Opening the phones didn’t need much work using the iOpener because of the weather on the west coast. There are still some adhesive but they won’t cause the plastic back to shatter.
Remove the standard screws once you see the inside. You can quickly see an earpiece speaker near the upper antenna, rectangular speaker with a red gasket, and a rear-facing mic.
Remove the motherboard to show the cameras and the other specs: Snapdragon 865+, Samsung LPDDR5 RAM, Samsung KLUDG4UHDB 128GB universal flash storage, Qualcomm SDX55M 5G modem-RF system, SMR526 intermediate frequency IC, Qualcomm QDM4820, QDM5872, and QDM4870 FEMs. Turn the motherboard to reveal the following: Qualcomm SDR865 5G and LTE transceiver, Wacom W9020, Murata 1RH WiFi + Bluetooth module, Skyworks 77365 power amplifier, Qualcomm PMX55, PM150C, PM8250 power management ICs, AVAGO 9136HU007, and Qualcomm QPA5580.
The batteries of both phones were glued down but good thing there is an adhesive remover plus suction cups. Underneath the motherboards are copper heat pipes. However, the US-spec phones don’t have them. Apparently, some of the copper was placed behind the AMOLED displays.
Repairability is low: 3. The components are modular and can be easily replaced. You only need a screwdriver plus standard Phillips. Replacing the battery may be a bit challenging. Even screen repairs could be tedious.
